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Fishing Reports
San Juan River, NM from www.customflys.com
June 09, 2004
Posted by Jude Duran
Email: customflys@msn.com
Current Report
Water Flow------353 cfs
The water clarity
continues to get better (
whether this is a permanent
change or not, we'll have to
wait and see because there
is still plenty of snow on
the San Juan Mountains ),
and is almost 3 feet which
makes spotting fish easier.
It's not the crystal clear
water we're used to, but
it's better than it has been
since last October!! The
reason for the murky water
is the high volume of muddy,
run-off water flowing into
the lake from the feeder
streams. This will probably
last until the end of run-
off. Fortunately, the run-
off coming into the lake is
still high, and the lake has
hit 1 million acre feet for
the first time in a couple
of years. The lake level has
risen about 14 feet in the
last 40 days! This is all
good news for us and the
river.
The crowds have
lessened, and with the
higher flows, the fish are
spreading out into the more
familiar areas. I'm not sure
why, but the river has been
less crowded, and the people
have, for the most part,
been considerate of one
another. The San Juan is
unique because there are so
many anglers on such a short
stretch of water ( from the
Texas Hole parking lot
upriver ) each day, anglers
become accustomed to fishing
closer to each other than
they may be used to on other
Western Rivers. However, the
general rules of etiquette
still apply and we all need
to be considerate of each
other when on the water. If
someone is fishing one of
the popular smaller holes, (
about 15 feet around ), let
them have the entire thing
and let them enjoy their day
of solitude on the river.
Besides, if you move around,
you are destined to find
other pods of fish that
probably fight harder
because they haven't been
fished over as often!
The fishing has picked
up lately because of the
consistent insect hatches.
The fishing is good for most
anglers. I am not the type
of guide who will give you
glorified reports to get you
to book a trip. I try to
give you an honest report,
so my determination of the
fishing quality comes from
talking to other anglers on
the river when I'm guiding.
As a guide, I can almost
always turn a slow day into
a better one by moving
around, switching flies, or
using non-traditional San
Juan tactics to get my
clients into fish. However,
I am on the river 120 times
a year, and my experience is
not typical of the fishing
you'll find when you arrive
at the river. Therefore, I
base my ratings on the
fishing of other anglers
around me, and from talking
to them during my lunch
breaks.
The 50-fish days I've
had and seen other anglers
have on the river are less
common now. Lately, most
people are catching 5-8 fish
a day. Under these tougher
conditions ( the drought,
lower flows, increased
fishing pressure, loss of
insect habitat ), that is a
very respectable total. It's
important when you visit the
river to drop all
expectations and have a good
time. Catching dozens of
trout is great, and I've
spent entire seasons trying
to catch more than 60 fish a
day, but to me, catching
that tough Rainbow in 1 foot
of clear water on a size 24
midge dry fly equals 30 hook
scarred rainbows caught in
the popular holes on San
Juan worms and egg patterns.
The fish are moving
around more lately, and they
are holding in almost every
riffle that is moving
quickly and is more than 1
1/2 feet deep, so if your
favorite fishing spot is
taken, just move on to the
riffles around it where
people have trampled across
the four 16" Rainbows
feeding there. The fishing
has been best for us in the
late morning when the mayfly
nymphs start moving around.
I'm still fishing very light
weight on 5x tippet to the
first fly, and 6x
fluorocarbon to my dropper
fly. I've gone with a bead
head red larva as my point
fly and a gray Trojan Midge
as my dropper almost
exclusively lately. When the
fish start moving around
more in the faster riffles,
I'll switch to a midge
emerger and a CDC wing Rs2.
If you've been wanting
to take a trip with a guide
on the San Juan River, now
is a great time. My months
fill up quick now that my
name is getting out there,
so e-mail me to book a trip.
Mention where you saw this
report, and get 15% off the
regular fee of a guided trip!
Top Producing Flies (in
order of importance):
#22 Gray Trojan Midge
#22 Red Thread Larva
#16 Dave's Chamois Worm
#22 Foam-wing Rs2 in gray
and chocolate
#22 Duran's Scud
Guide's Advice:
With the drought, increased
fishing pressure, and lower
flows, the fishing is
tougher than it's been in a
while, but there are still
more fish per mile in the
San Juan than almost any
other stream in the US,
period. It's a great fishery
that we simply took for
granted in previous years.
Now, the fish are smarter,
the water is less clear, and
we have to move around to
find actively feeding
rainbows.
Pay close attention to the
feeding patterns of the
fish. If you see them
sitting on the bottom and
not moving from side to side
feeding, or not opening
their mouths, move on to
another target. These fish
are resting, and won't feed
until the bugs start
emerging. You're more likely
to foul hook these fish in
the fin or belly than you
are to catch them. Fish to
the active fish you can see
taking emergers in the
middle of the water column,
or darting from side to side
feeding on midge pupa. I
often tell my clients to
watch for the whites of the
Trout's mouth. It is
distinct in the green
colored water, and this can
tell you when a fish is
taking insects. San Juan
Trout have distinct feeding
behaviors that can mean
great fishing, or poor
fishing. If you watch
closely and fish to the
active fish, you'll catch
more fish.
-Jude Duran
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